
Your Next iPhone Just Got a Free Memory Upgrade — Tech Roundup
Last year, Apple (AAPL) - Get Report iPhone buyers had a number of choices to make. Among them, which phone to get, the Plus or standard, and how much memory they should buy.
More memory equals more pictures, videos and apps. But on the flip side you have to pay for that extra memory. Previously, iPhones came with 16GB of memory, with the option to step up to 64GB for an extra $100 and to 128GB for an extra $200.
Maybe the extra $100 seems like a no brainer. But for buyers already shelling out $650 for the phone and for those who planned on getting the 6s Plus, now all of a sudden the phone is pushing $850 (before taxes) and in all likelihood will be obsolete in a few years anyway.
Thankfully, Apple has reportedly solved that problem. Pushing the starting point memory amount to 32GB as opposed to 16GB will likely prevent more people from upgrading, but at the same time, will help retain market share and possibly expand it. Overall, it will make customers happy -- and those who need more memory can still step up to higher levels.
Shares of Apple closed at $95.53 Wednesday, up 0.6%.
Alphabet (GOOGL) - Get Report is getting into the instant image recognition field with its recent purchase of Moodstocks.
The France-based company announced the move on its website, saying that the deal should be completed in just a few weeks. Of course, it was done for an undisclosed amount.
This is the latest salvo in a very clear move by the tech sector towards automation, artificial intelligence and machine-learning. Whether it's Twitter's (TWTR) - Get Report recent acquisition of Magic Pony or Facebook's (FB) - Get Report push into bot-chatting with users, the trend is quite clear: tech companies are looking to bridge the gap between humans and machines.
So what does Moodstocks do exactly? The startup is centered around image recognition for smartphones, making it an understandable move for an Internet search giant like Google, especially when it has the powerful Android business as well.
Shares of Alphabet closed at $708.97 Wednesday, up 0.6%.
Snapchat is known for its disappearing images, short-lived videos and text conversations that you better stay on top of lest you forget the topic at hand. But part of that Houdini act could be vanishing.
The company announced a new feature in Memories, which is a "new way to save Snaps and Stories on Snapchat. It's a personal collection of your favorite moments that lives below the Camera screen. Just swipe up from the Camera to open Memories!"
Users will be able to save these photos onto the Snapchat app, can add these photos to their Stories (which will then appear with a picture frame around them if they're more than one day old) and can even be kept private for users under a "My Eyes Only" setting.
The new feature will begin rolling out later this month and is just one more overhaul Snapchat has announced this year. Memories will join the expanded chat, video and picture features, along with an overhauled Discover page, which features brands like ESPN and Cosmo. It also goes alongside the company's efforts to live-stream part of the Olympics, as well as its digital magazine Real Life.
Apple, Alphabet, Twitter and Facebook are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL, GOOGL, TWTR or FB? Learn more now.
This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.









